Took our son to college yesterday. (1 Viewer)

saintmdterps

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The epitome of the word bittersweet. We dropped Carter off at Catholic University in Washington DC yesterday. There will be only 700 Freshmen housed on campus this year. The rest of the student body is doing distance learning. I hope this works out.

Taking your child off to college is hard on parents at the best of times. It was sad for all of us; his girlfriend, my wife, and his 7 year-old sister. He is very close with his mom, and she's having a tough time. I got home and bawled like a baby but that sadness is for me. I know Carter is going to make the transition to college life, it's going to be good for him and in turn Carter will be good for this world. He's bright, multi-talented, caring, and an engaging conversationalist. He will fit in very well with the DC area.

But damn it's hard. I miss him

I know some of you live in the DC area, maybe I'll send one of y'all over to check on him. What could possibly go wrong? :hihi:
 
I remember when I dropped my son off at LA Tech a few years back. We had gone there early to get his room in order and make sure he knew where everything was and all of that. By the time my wife and I left, it was 10:00 PM and it was all I could do to hold back my emotions. You see, he has Asperger's and this was the very first time he was doing anything on his own and I was scared to death for him.

On the way back home, which was only a couple of hours, I had to pull over to the side of the interstate and just cry. So, yeah, I get it.
 
I remember when I dropped my son off at LA Tech a few years back. We had gone there early to get his room in order and make sure he knew where everything was and all of that. By the time my wife and I left, it was 10:00 PM and it was all I could do to hold back my emotions. You see, he has Asperger's and this was the very first time he was doing anything on his own and I was scared to death for him.

On the way back home, which was only a couple of hours, I had to pull over to the side of the interstate and just cry. So, yeah, I get it.
I didn't even make it a couple hours. I cried in the parking lot while I hugged him goodbye. It's not coincidental that 40 years ago on nearly the same day I moved into my dorm at the University of Maryland. In a ritual of passing to a new phase of life I watched my mom make my bed, just as Abby made Carter's bed yesterday. I saw the sadness and tears that both mom and Abby had. I saw my dad's sadness, just not tears.

We may never pass this way again... Carter may or may not "come home" but he will certainly be different. As will we. The changes become magnified by the longer intervals apart, I'm going to age just as my parents did. Abby is going to age, and Carter will see that inevitability and feel powerless to stop it.

Seize the day, find the beauty in each moment because time doesn't stop.

I hope your son is well and happy :)
 
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My oldest daughter stayed home for college. In fact, she's still living at home, although she is getting married next year.

I left home early for high school (LSMSA), and again for college (Tulane). These experiences made me who I am and I wanted my girls to experience living on their own as I had. I spent 4 years living away from home in a dorm (2 in High School and 2 in College) and I never saw my parents get emotional until the summer before my Junior Year when I moved to an apartment. My mom said it's because the dorm was made to be temporary and she always knew I had to come back home. The apartment meant I wouldn't be home for the summer and probably wouldn't ever again. She was right, I never went back home to New Iberia. Although, I didn't understand her comment at the time because that was never my plan, but I guess maybe she always had hope I'd come around.

Last week I moved my youngest daughter into her dorm room. I loved every minute of it and I did it with pride. I was so happy for her to be getting her freedom, but my wife was and is not dealing well. She never went off to college, so maybe she doesn't get it. Or maybe I don't get it because I don't think this one is ever coming home again. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in or maybe I just know how much of a better person it made me and I want that for her. I don't think coming home was ever her plan, but I think my wife has hope she will.
 
My oldest daughter stayed home for college. In fact, she's still living at home, although she is getting married next year.

I left home early for high school (LSMSA), and again for college (Tulane). These experiences made me who I am and I wanted my girls to experience living on their own as I had. I spent 4 years living away from home in a dorm (2 in High School and 2 in College) and I never saw my parents get emotional until the summer before my Junior Year when I moved to an apartment. My mom said it's because the dorm was made to be temporary and she always knew I had to come back home. The apartment meant I wouldn't be home for the summer and probably wouldn't ever again. She was right, I never went back home to New Iberia. Although, I didn't understand her comment at the time because that was never my plan, but I guess maybe she always had hope I'd come around.

Last week I moved my youngest daughter into her dorm room. I loved every minute of it and I did it with pride. I was so happy for her to be getting her freedom, but my wife was and is not dealing well. She never went off to college, so maybe she doesn't get it. Or maybe I don't get it because I don't think this one is ever coming home again. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in or maybe I just know how much of a better person it made me and I want that for her. I don't think coming home was ever her plan, but I think my wife has hope she will.
My mom didn’t really cry when I went to college as I had went to Stanislaus from 6th to 9th and my worked in the hospitals a lot. My mom only cried when I got deployed to Iraq in 2003.

I have always wanted a full family as I never got that so I will be a mess unlike my mom.
 
I didn't even make it a couple hours. I cried in the parking lot while I hugged him goodbye. It's not coincidental that 40 years ago on nearly the same day I moved into my dorm at the University of Maryland. In a ritual of passing to a new phase of life I watched my mom make my bed, just as Abby made Carter's bed yesterday. I saw the sadness and tears that both mom and Abby had. I saw my dad's sadness, just not tears.

We may never pass this way again... Carter may or may "come home" but he will certainly be different. As will we. The changes become magnified by the longer intervals apart, I'm going to age just as my parents did. Abby is going to age, and Carter will see that inevitability and feel powerless to stop it.

Seize the day, find the beauty in each moment because time doesn't stop.

I hope your son is well and happy :)

Thank you and he is! He was a bit overwhelmed being by himself and we decided after a couple of quarters that he should move back home and go to UT Dallas. He graduated this year!
 
We did our first college drop-off this week as well. It is the very definition of bittersweet - Mrs. Sparkle is still pretty much a puddle.

I was sad too but mostly worried about it will shake out during COVID. She lost her senior spring and all the events that go with it - I'm hopeful she will be able to experience something resembling normal college life at some point this year. She's certainly earned it.
 
I look forward to the day my 2 move out. Then the house won't constantly have their crap everywhere, cups of water, crumbs on the countertop, shoes on the floor, chips bag in the pantry with only crumbs left, lights left on, garbage constantly full but no one takes it out, etc. I could go on but I have to actually work. :)
 

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